State of the State Open Thread

Hickenlooper called for more background checks in cases where they don’t currently exist, like when someone buys a gun from a seller on Craigslist.

“Let’s examine our laws and make the changes needed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” he said. Some Democrats have indicated they will introduce a ban on assault weapons, but Hickenlooper did not mention that proposal in his speech. He said “it’s not enough to prevent dangerous people from getting weapons.”

“We have to do a better job of identifying and helping people who are a threat to themselves and others. That is why we are requesting your support for a comprehensive overhaul of our state’s mental health system,” he said. Last month, he called for an expansion of services for the mentally ill.

Hickenlooper also renewed a call for the passage of civil unions for same-sex couples – legislation that House Republicans blocked last session when they controlled the chamber. With Democrats controlling both chambers now, Hickenlooper said it’s time to pass the legislation.

“This year, let’s do it. Let’s pass civil unions!” he said.

As FOX 31’s Will Holdenreports, Hickenlooper gaffed one good at the end:

Reaching what he would later laughingly refer to as the “crescendo” of his address, Hickenlooper found his tongue in a knot as he tried to describe the Coloradans who have “punched holes in the darkness” over the past year.

Gun violence has more social and policy implications than many wish to discuss It’s not just the NRA. It speaks to US policy, foreign and domestic.

This can lead to a discussion about US military exports, which are greater than any other country and have been for decades. The intelligence community could stop it if wants, but the dark under belly of US foreign policy has been that the US profits from war and illegal narcotics trade. If you doubt the last statement then read The Pentagon Papers circa 1968/69, and the CIA’ report on Iran Contra. Both document arms and drug smuggling supported by the US intelligence community. It’s the military industrial complex.

I believe in banning assault weapons. That would make a difference, but would not eliminate mass shootings, nor smuggling of arms South.Closing loopholes in background checks makes sense. The only true way to stop the violence in Latin America related to narcotics and gun running is to legalize narcotics, which drops the profit margins, and to readdress financially supporting rehabilitation rather than the private prison industry.This won’t happen any time soon, if ever.